I focus almost exclusively on PvP, whether solo, small gang, or large bloc warfare. In the past, I've been a miner, mission runner, and faction warfare jockey. I'm particularly interested in helping high-sec players get into 0.0 combat.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Show us on the doll where he shot you…

I had considered writing an “about me” post to inaugurate
this new blog, but I certainly wouldn’t read such a post from someone
else.When I started reading Eve blogs,
I was looking for tips to help improve my PvP, not learn about
personalities.I found Jester’s Trek,
Poetic Discourse, and The Altruist, great blogs filled with tips I used to
improve my flying.Each expansion
changes the rules and the “way” to fly, so we need a continuous stream of
articles to help coach the younger players.Those who have knowledge need to pass it on, particularly in Eve.Hopefully, those of you who choose to comment
will correct me where I’m wrong.This
blog’s goal is to serve as a resource to encourage and help new folks
interested in PvP, null-sec, and low-sec combat.

But what does that mean, PvP?

The term gets thrown around quite a bit as the other half of
the spectrum with PvE, but there are many types of PvP, and they each impart a
very different skill-sets.In ascending
order of skill (in my opinion) are:

Bloc Warfare: I’m confident that
any high-sec mission runner has the skill to join a null-sec alliance and
PvP during major wars.Also known
as “blobs”, these fleets consist of 70-80% DPS ships whose job consists of
finding a target the FC calls primary, locking it, and pressing F1.The more advanced among these folks know
how to align and broadcast for reps when taking damage.Whether you survive or die is more due
to the strategies of the various commanders than anything you yourself do.

Gate Camps: Sitting on a gate in a
high-traffic area, these gangs, usually of between 10-20 people, attack
anyone who jumps through the gate.In null-sec, they usually have at least one interdictor-class ship,
but all gate camps have several fast-tacklers (ships with warp scramblers
and MWDs) and scouts in the nearby systems to identify targets and
threats.Gate camps are a good way
to learn the capabilities of your ship – or various ships – and dip your
toe in a diversified fleet.Usually, comms discipline is casual enough that you can ask
questions, and the chances of dying are very, very low if your fleet is
properly scouted.However, you’re
not going to have balanced or riveting fights.

High-Sec Warfare: Some
corporations exist solely to declare war on alliances with thousands of
members and trawl the corridors near trade hubs, looking for easy
kills.This form of PvP requires
more skill than gate camps, since you may need to find your targets, but
you still will have complete control over the circumstances, so you are
very unlikely to lose your ship.This PvP is akin to U-boats attacking an unarmed convoy.You will get juicy kills, but won’t face
any danger.

Low-sec Gang Pirating: As low-sec
PvP, you can be attacked at any time, and this carries inherent risk.At any time, you could run into enemy
gate camps or roamers and have to think on your feet.Cyno fields can bring reinforcements at
any time, too.However, as
predators, you will have space you frequently hunt and will know the
normal patterns in the flow of traffic and enemies you’ll face.You’ll still be in control of which
engagements you take and which you avoid.Individual pilots need to be much more aware and capable within
their ships, but these groups usually bring overwhelming force, so
occasional mistakes by one pilot don’t tend to cost them victory.

Faction Warfare: I almost put this
one sixth, after the next type of PvP.Some faction warfare is done in groups, but a lot of it is
solo.However, because of the mechanics,
getting “surprise” fights is somewhat difficult.Skill lies in knowing the capabilities
of your ship and the ships you consider engaging.If you know which fights to take and
which to pass up, you’ll do fine.Enemy reinforcements will be slow to arrive in FW sites, which
offer considerable protection.

Corp/Alliance Doctrine Roams:
Using fleet compositions that have been well-tested by your
corporation/alliance, you and your mates travel through either null or
low-sec and engage anyone you find.FCs, scouts, tacklers (including bubblers) and logistics (reppers)
require more skill than DPS pilots, but you do need to know the various
engagement ranges and strategies to use versus a wide host of
enemies.You also need to be
familiar with your role in the fleet and the protocol on fleet comms.

Black Ops (Blops) Gangs: Using a Black
Ops battleship and a number of recon scouts, these gangs sit on the
bridging ship until the scout finds targets.The scout lights a cyno (usually a
covert cyno), and the rest of the gang bridges through the cyno to attack
the targets.The sneaky factor
(enemies see only one recon in system when they decide to engage) is
outweighed by limits on the types of ships that can travel through a black
ops bridge (bombers, T3s with the Covert Reconfiguation subsystem, cloaky
recons, black ops BSes).

Sniper Gangs: Consisting of
tier-three BCs – usually Torandos – fit with paper tanks to maximize
damage and speed, these gangs warp in on a group of targets, unleash their
alpha damage, then warp off before anyone can get close enough to tackle
them.Individual pilots need to
listen very closely to FC commands, keep aligned to the right location,
and follow primary targets.While
the individual pilot actions aren’t difficult, they do require quick
reactions.When a pilot makes a
mistake (normally not aligning off correctly), death usually follows.If the fleet gets into trouble, the
paper tanks on these ships usually crumple very quickly.

Small Gang Warfare: Whereas pirate
gangs tend to stay very close to home, I identify this group as traveling
to unfriendly/unfamiliar space.Without stations to dock in to repair or familiarity with the
traffic patterns in your roaming region, this form of PvP carries
additional inherent risks.Consisting
of between 3-10 players, these gangs require players to be very
comfortable with their ships and how to use them in PvP.An individual fleet member making a
mistake tends to result in lost kills or the death of the player or, in
some cases, the whole fleet.

Solo Roaming (Wink Wink): You’re
the only player in cold, cold space…. But you have another character
scouting or providing fleet boosts.Even though you have an advantage that others lack, you are limited
by having only one brain to split among multiple characters, and no one
else to back you up if you get into trouble.These players tend to have very
expensive implants, ships, Loki fleet boosts, and scouts to ensure they
have as much information and advantage as possible before heading into a
fight.However, they succeed or
fail based solely on their own skill.

Solo Roaming: Just like the
previous type of PvP, but without the advantage (*cough* cheating *cough)
of boosts.Solo roaming is the most
dangerous type of known-space PvP.Mistakes
in solo-roaming cost you your ship and probably your pod.You have to be very comfortable with the
moment after engagement and know how
to pick your battles very carefully.

Wormhole PvP: Perhaps the most
difficult and most nerve-wracking, wormhole PvP is for the best
PvPers.With no local channel, you
need to be aware of your surroundings at all times, understand the
capabilities of your ship, keep situational awareness, and adjust for the
modifiers in your wormhole system.Pilot skill and awareness are critical to your survival, and being
podded means you’ll be cloned in a known-space station and need to find
your way back to your wormhole again.Usually, the ships fielded are 1-billion-isk+ in value.

Each type of PvP requires a different set of skills.To varying degrees, you need patience,
knowledge, courage, judgment, serenity, luck, and risk-tolerance.When anyone refers to PvP, he’s invariably thinking
about one or two of these types exclusively.“That’s not real PvP…” is a common complaint made by one group against
another.

But they are all PvP, and I’d wager every pilot in the game
can enjoy at least one of them.No one
said you need to start with solo roaming.You probably wouldn’t succeed at it your first try anyways.I didn’t.I started with small gang, and was massacred mercilessly at first.A harsh education, to be sure, but one that
paid off very nicely in a good body of experience and knowledge about what NOT
to do.

That’s the point of this blog… to explore what PvP is, how
to do it well, understand why others do it well, and keep abreast on any news
items of interest to PvPers.It might
include all the things that support PvP – markets, manufacturing, logistics,
carebearing – but the focus is learning, appreciating, and studying the ways
you can harvest tears from your enemies.

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